Return of former top prospect results in awkard roster move for Guardians

It was just a few days ago that Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told outfielder Will Brennan that he had made the Opening Day roster. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Brennan was informed on Monday that he is being sent to Triple-A Columbus to start the season as the Guardians make their final adjustments to their roster ahead of Opening Day.

This comes after the Guardians made a surprising trade to reacquire former top outfield prospect Nolan Jones from the Colorado Rockies. Cleveland traded Tyler Freeman to Colorado to bring Jones back into the fold this past week, and it seems pretty clear that they want to give him ample opportunities to make an impact. Jones should get every chance to prove himself worthy of being a regular presence in Cleveland's lineup early on in the year and could even help make the Guardians' lineup a little more difficult to navigate for opposing pitchers.

Brennan does not have a lot of pop in his bat, and his offensive profile is one the Guardians have plenty of already. With a career slash line of .270/.308/.377 with 38 doubles and 14 home runs in 263 career games, Brennan is not the type of player that is going to raise a team's offensive floor.

While there is value in what a bat like Brennan's can bring to the table, the Guardians need a bat that can raise their offensive ceiling. Hopefully, Jones can replicate his 2023 season which saw him slash .297/.389/.542 with 22 doubles, 20 home runs, four triples, and 62 runs driven in en route to finishing in fourth place in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Anything remotely close to this would be of great benefit to the Guardians and their team-oriented goals for 2025 and beyond.

Cleveland has been in need of additional power in their lineup for quite some time, and that is just something Brennan can provide. Going with Jones, Lane Thomas, Jhonkensy Noel, as well as Steven Kwan in their outfield, is going to give them more power potential than a group that includes Brennan.

There is another aspect to this as well. Brennan is probably best suited to be a reserve/ fourth outfielder, filling in as needed when the regulars need a day off their feet. Meanwhile, Jones still has the potential to be the everyday outfielder the Guardians have been searching for, and they have to at least explore that possibility.